MEDIATED ENVIRONMENTS, 2014 5.5′ x 2′ x 3′ sculpture and nine 11″x14″ prints, and process zine
Today we experience the natural world in peculiar ways, voyeuristic and exploitive. In our every day lives, nature has almost become invisible, and has been replaced by artifice. A gap has been growing between the natural world and us; as the void grows, technology takes its place, pushing us ever further apart. We now experience nature through varying degrees of technology, existing simultaneously as an interrupter and facilitator. This sculpture and photo series addresses this disconnect that we now feel today, focusing on technology as a mediator.
The images, both on the sculpture and the series of prints, were not shot in real time, but are screen captures from Google Streetview. These images (and the Streetview experience in of itself) illustrate that it is possible to reach and experience nature, with out the real experience.
Even the materials are chosen specifically. Although real wood, the cedar has been manipulated: we do not recognize it any longer as a tree, but as a manufactured material that has been translated for us. The acrylic sheets allow us to see, but simultaneously prevent us from seeing clearly. We are forced to view through this synthetic layer, similar to the way we unintentionally view nature today, via screens or microscopes. All the plant matter, although extremely real, is not exactly from a natural origin – either store-bought or scavenged from within the city – and shows us that organic plant material is not necessarily synonymous with nature. It is a mix of the real and unreal, biological and artificial.
in situ: THE VULGAR ERA curated by Tobias Williams, XPACE Toronto
